The Uzumaki Clan Reborn
by sketchtheunicorn
Summary: What if only Minato had died, and Kushina had lived to raise Naruto? That is what this story intends to tell you. The story of a boy that grew up being loved. The story of a teen who will change fate. The story of a man who will restore his clan. No flames please, but constructive criticism welcome. Rated M for possible future chapters. Rating subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

Kushina Uzumaki looked at her newborn son's sleeping form, cradled protectively in the crook of her arm, and couldn't help but feel a deep overbearing sadness. The love of her life and husband Minato Namakazie, the yellow flash and fourth hokage of konoha had just teleported them into a clearing some ways from the village. She looked up into his eyes and saw in there a mixture of fear, concern, and the same sorrow she knew resided in her own violet eyes. Above all; however, shone a fierce determination. Kushina only had to look beyond her beloved's figure into the surrounding forest to understand the emotions his eyes betrayed. In the background just behind him, in stark contrast to the night sky, was the Nine-tailed demon fox: the Kyuubi, who was until a short time ago sealed within her. It appeared disoriented and angry its malice permeated the air around them, manifesting itself as a physical pressure, weighing down both body and soul with terror. she was amazed how her little Naruto could sleep so soundly with such a vile presence pressing down so heavily upon them.

"Please, I have to do this alone my love. One of us must live to raise our son."

"but-"

"Kushina, you know how the village will treat him, no matter what I ask. Too many lives have been lost this night, and as much as I love the village, there will be many who will hate him for what he will hold. You have to be there for him. Promise me."

"..."

"Promise me!" he pleaded.

All her life, Kushina had been stubborn and willful. It was just not in her nature to submit to anything or anyone, but the look in her husbands eyes and his desperate plea made her realize the truth. In a rare moment of crystal clear clarity she saw the life of her precious newborn son flash before her eyes. She saw before her a life of pain, strife, and a profound loneliness she was all too familiar with. It was a life that had almost claimed her itself, and she knew if it had not been for Minato and a few close friends it would have. It was in that instant that she knew what her decision had to be, must be.

"I promise." she said, and even as she said it she began to do something she had not done in years: she began to cry.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Minato Namikaze took his son from his wife and placed him in the center of a hastily summoned alter-like stand and began writing a complex sealing formula that only he and his sensei could hope to duplicate. once he had finished he turned to the form of the kyuubi, who had finally seemed to notice him. As he began running swiftly through various hand signs the beast let out a roar of defiance.

"**I shall not let you seal me up again!**" the kyuubi roared as it brought its full power to bear, striking out with all of its nine tails. Minato realized that there was no way to stop them, there were too many and moving too fast, and even if he could he was too far into the jutsu to stop now. just as the tails were about to reach him and Naruto a deep blue iridescent wall of chakra seemed to form between them. for the span of a few heartbeats the shield held before the kyuubi's massive power broke through, but it was long enough. the first tail pierced Minato through the chest, missing the heart only by inches, but nicking an artery. The other eight speed straight toward the infant child, but stopped short. Minato had finished his jutsu and the nine tails was absorbed into the seal on Naruto's stomach. Once the fox was gone Minato fell to his knees, having only remained standing because of the tail holding him aloft. Kushina rushed to her beloved's side, tears cascading down her face.

"Minato! don't leave me!" she sobbed as she gently held him in her arms

"My love, listen closely. You must tell Hiruzen about the masked man. he has to know what happened. the masked man has a sharingan eye. I fought him, and he is powerful. he wants to destroy the leaf. I don't know why, but tell him he should be careful."

"I will my love."

"I love you, kushina"

"I love you, too, Minato"

And so died Minato Namikaze, fourth hokage of the hidden leaf, and one of its greatest heroes. It was at this time that little Naruto began to cry.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hiruzen Sarutobi, former third Hokage, walked into the clearing in which Minato had Hirashined the kyuubi to and from which it had abruptly disappeared from. The scene that met his eyes was horrifying: there in the center of the clearing sat Kushina Uzumaki holding her newborn son gently to her chest as both mother and son wailed to the heavens their mutual despair. There at the feet of Kushina lay the reason for such anguish. There lay the body of Minato Namikaze. Somberly Hiruzen walked toward this scene, his face a wooden mask, no emotion displayed there to hint at the grief he felt inside. He simply laid a single gentle hand upon her shoulder and as she looked up to him, it seemed as if a switch had been flipped, and her crying ceased. As her child continued his mournful knell, Kushina began to rock him back and forth as she told the Sarutobi patriarch the events that lead to this woeful night and of what she knew of the masked man. As she began telling of how Minato had sealed the Kyuubi into her newborn son, a realization dawned on her that had escaped her notice before.

"Sarutobi-sama, someone was here, they helped us, but I saw no one, please see if anyone is in the surrounding forest, I wish to thank whoever saved my son."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Not far from the clearing, a mysterious figure sat slumped against a tree. Not much could be seen of the man in the shadows of the forest, and as he sat there, weak from exhaustion, he let out a sigh. It had almost been too late, he noted in the quiet of his mind, had he been but a second slower he knew that the ultimate disaster would have struck. A part of him, a very large part, was filled with anguish that he had not arrived sooner. As he sat in the shade of the tree, contemplating his near total failure, he heard the sounds of someone approaching him. Having thrown all he could of his chakra into the barrier that without dying, the mysterious man knew he could only wait to be found and hope it was not an enemy. As Hiruzen came into view of the figure, the cloud that had left the man in shadow rolled away, revealing his appearance in the moonlight. he had a lean build that spoke of speed rather than power, and was slightly taller than average height. His face had a rounded shape that gave a sense of openness to it, and his emerald-green eyes seemed to sparkle with hidden mirth. His most notable feature was his mess of bright blue hair. His clothing consisted of a sleeveless shirt that was a dark blue with a stripe of red running vertically down the center, a pair of black pants that were bound to his ankles with bandages, a pair of fingerless gloves that extended up to his elbows that were the same color as his shirt and the same red stripe running up the center, and a pair of black shinobi tabi. The man looked to be in his early twenties to Hiruzen, and he could tell the man was suffering from severe chakra exhaustion.

"Are you a leaf shinobi?" the young man asked, his voice, which sounded light and airy, was steeped in weariness.

"Yes, though I suppose after today's events I will be taking up my previous post as Hokage. You are the one that helped the fourth." he said without the slightest hint of doubt.

"I am, though I wish I had come sooner, maybe he would still be alive if I had"

"What is your name, young man?"

"Amatsu Otakebi."

"Well, Amatsu, things would be a lot worse if you never came at all and from the state you're in, I'd say that the most you could have done is have gotten yourself killed, and it may have made no difference either way. Now let's get you up, there is a mother who wants to thank you for saving her child tonight, and she's not the only one. You have my thanks as well."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Amatsu limped into the clearing, supported by the Third Hokage. Kushina noticed how heavily the young man's reliance on the older one was and felt sympathy for him. She herself was feeling weak from the Kyuubi's extraction from her and knew this man had risked his life to try to protect her loved ones. As Hiruzen helped the man into a sitting position, other shinobi that had some interest in what had happened began to appear, including Kakashi Hatake, Minato's former student.

After the Third made the introductions the first thing the Amatsu said was "I'm sorry I couldn't save your husband, I got here too late."

The anguish in his eyes surprised Kushina "did you know Minato?" she queried.

"Unfortunately, no, but I have heard about him in my travels, and it pains me to think I could have saved his life if I had been faster."

"That brings up an interesting question," Kakashi pointed out, "as much as I am grateful for your attempt to save my Sensei's life, it begs the question, how you knew to come here, and why you are even here to begin with."

Amatsu nodded "I understand your concern, but understand what I have to say will seem strange and unbelievable. I am the last of a clan of ninja that have what you might consider a peculiar Kekki Genkai, as well as an unreliable one. Members of my family have long been able to tell the future through dreams that we have. The problem is that we can't control what we see, and what we see is never clear and concise, needing to be deciphered so we can understand what we have seen. Until recently, I had believed that the power had skipped over me, because I have not had any of these dreams. However, nine months ago I had a dream that was so strong, I did not wake up for three days. It took me up until just a week ago to understand even part of what I saw, and I realized I did not have long to act. My clan has had no village to call its own, and as such we have been travelers. At the time I was in the land of birds, and I made all due haste here. What I had been able to decipher from my dream was that a great crisis would befall the hidden leaf, and that in this clearing the fate of the entire world rested on the shoulders of the fourth hokage. I am mostly a sensory type ninja, and so when I was close enough, I began to follow the fourth's chakra. I had trouble at first, but when I felt it settle here, I ran as fast as I could. When I saw the Kyuubi attack I knew I was out of time, so I focused all on his chakra and used the strongest barrier jutsu I knew and erected it just in front of his signature. If I had been just a little closer or a little stronger the barrier would have been stronger, and I would have been able to hold longer."

The sad look in his eyes said everything. In his mind, his inability to save Minato had made him a failure. Kushina locked eyes with him and very firmly said "Now listen here, young man, you did as much as you could for my husband, and in the end you saved my son's life. If it hadn't been for you, I'm certain my little Naruto here would be an orphan now. You have no reason to be sorry, and I am very much in your debt for the help you have given me. No matter what your dreams showed you, you didn't have to do anything, and yet you went to such lengths to help people you didn't even know. I know for a fact my husband would have liked you for that reason alone, and I feel that way myself. I would be honored to call you my friend, and I promise you any reward that is in my power as head of the Uzumaki clan. Is there anything you want?"

Amatsu sat there for only the briefest of moments before he replied "well, I've never had a place to call home, so would it be okay if I lived here in Konoha?"

Kushina looked toward Hiruzen, the old man smiled and said "I'm sure we can see about some thing. We will have to ask you a few questions, and you'll have to pass the genin test if you want to be a ninja, but I'm sure that we can settle you here in the village. Welcome to the hidden leaf, Amatsu."

**Author's Note: Hello readers, and thank you for reading the first chapter in my story. I, myself have been a fan of this site for over eight years now, and now that I have finally acquired a working laptop, I can begin to add my own story ideas for my favorite shows, books, ect. to this wonderful site. Now I would like to give you readers a sort of idea about where this fic is going. During the years of reading Naruto fan fictions I have come across many good ideas that other people have started to write, but that were either abandoned and never finished, or the potential for these ideas seemed to be wasted. As such, this fic is my attempt to take these ideas that I found so tantalizing and integrate them into a story that has floated around in my head for some time now. One of those, and to me the one that seemed the one whose potential was most wasted, is that instead of Naruto's three-year training trip with Jiriaya, I will have him join the fire Diayamo's guardian squad. There is a very good fic that does this, but immediately skips forward the three years, and only uses a few light-hearted omake's to give us any insight into what happened, and I just felt that was a wasted potential for new and exciting material. Also, I will be loosely sticking to canon, which is to say I'll only be using what I thought Kishimoto got right and throwing the rest of it out for some widely used alternatives here on fanfiction, including femHaku (I will never accept Haku was a boy, ever.). Also this story will either go one of two ways romantically: either I will go good ol' Naru/Hina, or I'll be going Naru/Harem with Hinata as the head girl. If I go the harem route, the max number I'll add is three, and they will not include Sakura, Ino, Temari, Or Tenten as I will be pairing them with Sasuke, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Lee respectively. As such, this limits my number of choices somewhat, but I do know of a few that I could use. As far as lemons go, I can't promise I will add any, but I **_**might **_**add them. If I do, then there will be of course ample warning, and they will be much farther into the story. I am also looking for any beta's, not so much for spelling errors as for grammatical errors and help keeping the characters from becoming too OOC. One final note, this is my first fanfic, and as such I don't know how often I will be able to update. I will try to post as often as once every week to at least once a month, but if that doesn't happen please understand I am doing my best and will not abandon this story ever. Please leave comments, ideas, and reviews and I promise to read and respond to as many as I possibly can. Sketch out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Uzumaki clan Reborn!**

Chapter 2: Enter the New clan heir!

It had been two weeks. Two weeks since the tragedy of that horrible night. Less than a week since Minato's funeral. It was the first time the village council had met since The Attack, as everyone had been busy helping with the reconstruction efforts where they could. The meeting was held in a room specifically designed for the councils use. It was a large open room, sparsely lit so that the vaulted ceiling was draped in shadows. The room itself was rounded, and was as furnished just as sparsely as its lighting. Along the eastern and western sides of the walls, sitting on foot-high raised platforms, were two identical long tables with several chairs behind them. The tables curved with the room, almost meeting at the southern most end of the room. There between the two tables, set on a platform one foot higher and with a small set of three steps in front of it, was a large throne with the Kanji for fire engraved at its top, just above where the head of whoever sat in it would be. Currently that person was the Former Third Hokage and current leader of Konohagakure, one Hiruzen Sarutobi, who looked tired. In the center of the room, which was left completely bare and was used for anyone who wished to address the council or for a council member to put forth a subject which he thought needed the attention of the council, was a stocky man with short pink hair who was obviously speaking to the Hokage.

"...And so, Lord Hokage, after a more thorough inspection of the damage caused during The Attack, I have come to the conclusion that our original estimate was too high. It seems that the ninja of the village were able to confine most of the fighting to the market and ghetto districts. As such, I believe that the excess funds acquired for reconstruction be funneled into the orphanages and homeless shelters that have seen an influx in there numbers since The Attack."

"Hmm, a very good Idea councilman Haruno. I shall see that it is implemented immediately.", Hiruzen replied.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage, I only wish to serve.", said the pink haired councilman as he bowed and limped back to his seat.

As he did so, Hiruzen was reminded of how he had helped the man. Isamu Haruno had been a decent chunin who had excelled in strategy and surprisingly brute force tactics, but whose life as a ninja had been destroyed on a mission that had nearly taken his life. It was Hiruzen who had helped the man gain a job in construction, where his ninja training and sharp mind had led him to owning the largest and most renowned construction company in all of Konoha in less than four years, which had also gained him his seat on the council. It was entirely likely, Hiruzen mused, that even if the payments for the reconstruction had to come from his own pocket, Isamu would still have insisted upon the reallocation of funds. He wasn't entirely sure Isamu wasn't already doing so. Once Isamu was seated, Hiruzen spoke up.

"Are there any other matters that need discussion today?", he asked with a touch of hope in his voice. It had been a long session, and the Hokage's chair wasn't made to be comfortable.

"Actually, Lord Hokage, I believe that there is one last important matter to discuss.", said an elderly man with short black hair and a cane.

"And what would that be Danzo?" the Hokage asked in a weary tone. He was really looking forward to his pipe.

"I believe we need to discuss what is to be done about the Jinchuriki of the Nine-tailed fox."

As soon as the words left the man's mouth there was a sudden drop in temperature in the room, which emanated from a certain red haired Uzumaki.

"I don't see that anything needs to be discussed, Danzo -_sama._ My _son_ will be staying in my care, and I will be damned if you lay a finger on a hair on his head.", Kushina stated, her voice beginning soft and slowly rising to a shout near the end of her statement.

"I meant no disrespect, Kushina-san, nor did I mean to imply that he should be removed from your care. I simply meant in response to his future as a potential asset to the village. His status as a Jinchuriki would surely be a boost to Konoha's defense if he were to become a ninja of the village when he is older.", Danzo said in an attempt to soothe Kushina's anger. Even an old war hawk like Danzo knew to fear the red hot-blooded Habanera.

"Whether my son becomes a shinobi or not will be his choice. If he chooses that path, then I will support him and train him in the Uzumaki way." Kushina replied icily.

It was during the silence that followed that statement that a civilian councilman who was obviously drunk decided to mutter a few choice words. Unfortunately, as he was inebriated, his voice wasn't so quiet and the words "Demon Whore" were heard quite plainly. The foolish councilman had time enough to realize his mistake, a whole three seconds, before Kushina seemed to simply teleport across the room and was holding a katana against the idiots throat. A single drop of the man's precious life essence appeared on the edge of the blade, and began a slow descent down the sword, leaving a crimson trail in its wake.

"WHAT. DID. YOU. SAY?", said the red-head. Each word was said in a soft and sickeningly sweet tone, but each was punctuated with a large spike of Killing Intent that slowly decreased the temperature in the room. It also had the effect of quickly sobering the moronic councilman, as well as making him and the councilmember's around them lose control of their bodily functions.

"Kushina, stand down please. I'd rather not have to have a mess to clean up.", the Third Hokage ordered with a small amount of fear in his voice. Even the God of Shinobi knew to fear the Red Hot-Blooded Habanera.

"As you command, Lord Hokage, so do I obey." Kushina said, removing the blade from the now sober councilman's throat who then promptly passed out. Kushina then sealed the katana back into a hidden seal on the inside of her sleeve and walked back to her seat, sharing a smile with the Inuzuka clan head and fellow female Tsume.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Four years passed, and the village of Konohagakure had regained a sense of normalcy. The only dark spot for a large portion of the village was a little blond boy that they called 'the demon child', though well out of earshot of the boy's mother, whose rage was legendary across all of Hi no Kuni. Currently said parent and child were taking a stroll through the city. Well, it was more accurate to say that Kushina was taking a stroll, while her little Naruto was whizzing around her like a small yellow sun orbiting a larger celestial body. For Kushina, this was normal, both for her son and any Uzumaki. That they may have been the last of the great line of Uzumaki never crossed her mind, not when her son was all she would ever need now.

"hey mommy, where are we going?" Naruto asked during a brief respite from his near constant motion. This of course didn't mean he stood still, just that he slowed down enough to not look like a little yellow blur.

"we're going to see Hiyu-chan and Mikoto-chan." Kushina said with a smile.

"Oh, does that mean Hina-chan and Sasuke will be there?" the young Uzumaki exclaimed.

Kushina's smile brightened at her son's words. Since they had been babies she and her former teammates had set up play dates between their children in hopes they would become friends. Naruto had indeed made friends with little Hinata and Sasuke, though his relationship with Sasuke seemed more like a rivalry. In truth the reason for their visit today was that Hiyu had set up a surprise party for Naruto as today was the day before his birthday. Because of the annual celebration for the defeat of the Kyuubi, Kushina never celebrated Naruto's birthday on the exact day, always a day or two before or after.

"Naruto?"

"Yes, mom?" Naruto asked.

"Do you still want to be a ninja?"

"Of course! I wanna be a ninja just like you and dad used to be! Just like the fourth was. I wanna be the best ninja ever, and be Hokage one day!"

As Naruto proclaimed his dream, the dream he had had since he was old enough to talk, Kushina's smile slipped just a tad. She still hadn't revealed to him who his father was, nor that he was the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no yoko. For his status as jinchuriki Kushina wanted to wait till he could begin to feel and control his chakra. It would be then that he would need to learn the dangers of using the Fox's chakra. As for his father, well….. She wasn't sure. Originally she and Minato had decided if something were ever to happen to one or both of them that it would be safer if Naruto didn't know, at least until he was a chunin or eighteen (clan head age) to tell him the truth. Kushina wasn't too sure that chunin was high enough now. Both she and Minato had made very powerful enemies during their careers as shinobi. Kushina herself was feared second only to her husband during the third great shinobi war. Iwa was sure to make him a target if they knew his heritage.

No, it was better if he got _much_ stronger than chunin before she told him the truth.

"well then, starting tomorrow, we start your ninja training!"

"Really!?"

"yep."

"YATTA!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Moooom, can't I take a break already?" Naruto complained.

"Fine, you get two minutes, no more." his mother replied, to which he plopped down into a sitting position to catch his breath.

It was the day after his surprise birthday party, which he had loved. Everyone he cared for had been there, even Kakashi-niisan and Ero-Sennin. He had gotten to play ninja with all of his friends, which consisted of most of the major clan head's children. After they had played for a while, about an hour or so, his mother had called them over to have a meal, ramen of course, and then a slice of cake. Then came his presents.

From his nii-san, Naruto had received a book about the beginners guide to the Academy Taijutsu. Even though Naruto wasn't a fan of reading, he was happy to get the book, as it would give him an edge when he started in the Ninja Academy in a few years. Next, from his friend Shikamaru, Naruto had been given a shogi board and a set of pieces to go with it. Choji had given him a coupon for half off at Ichiraku Ramen, which had earned the large boy an equally big hug.

Most of his other presents were mostly what would be expected for a four-year old, even one whose dream was to be Hokage. The only other presents of note were from his Godfather, Sasuke, and Hina-chan. From Sasuke, he was given a set of training kunai and shuriken, made of blunt wood but with heavy iron cores to simulate the weight of the real thing without being overly dangerous. From his Godfather, the legendary Jiraiya of the Sannin, he received a calligraphy set. At his look of confusion regarding the gift, Jiraiya laughed and told him that it was the first step to teaching the runt Fuinjutsu, as perfect handwriting was an absolute must, this of course earned the old pervert a huge smile and a promise to start practicing immediately. His final gift had been from Hina-chan. After opening the small box, Naruto found a sleeping cap in the form of a panda, which would seem to be eating the wearers head when worn. Turning to the shy Hyuga heiress, Naruto had given his biggest smile of the day and simply said, "I'll wear it every night!"

This caused many of the female adults to smile and give cries of "awww!", while the girl herself had blushed a deep red and nodded.

"Okay, Naruto, breaks over, now give me another thirty laps"

Groaning, the blond stood up and began running around the track that was located on the private training grounds behind the Uzumaki clan house. His mother had woken him up at six in the morning, ands started him with thirty minutes of stretches. Then she had him do thirty laps around the track, followed by twenty-five push-ups, twenty-five sit-ups, and fifty jumping jacks, with only a minute between each exercise. From what she had been telling him, this was just the beginning. At it wasn't even noon yet!

Once he had finished the last lap, the four-year old blonde Uzumaki collapsed on the ground, giving him a major discovery: his stamina_ wasn't_ infinite.

"alright Naruto, that's enough for now. We'll take a two hour break for lunch, and then start on the study portion of your training" his mother declared, to which she was given a cry of indignation and a reply of "do I have to?"

"Yes, Naruto, you do. Every Hokage has had to be smart as well as strong to gain their position." with another sigh and an "Okay.", the last two Uzumaki in Konoha made their way inside.

Two months passed in this way, and Naruto slowly began to see progress. At first, the workouts his mother put him through were hellish on him, and he was left with almost no energy at the end of the day, having exhausting it all between both physical and mental training. But now, Naruto would end the day sore and with a slight headache, but not be as tired out as he had been in the beginning. Luckily for him, his Uzumaki heritage gave him the stamina and fast recovery rate to deal with all this. Currently it was a chilly December night, and Naruto had been invited to a sleepover at his friend Hinata's house, along with his other friend Sasuke, seeing as the next day was to be her birthday. It was late, and Naruto had needed to use the restroom. After he relieved himself, Naruto was walking back to the room the three friends were sleeping in when he heard noises coming from said room. At first, he thought that it might be one of his friends getting up to do the same thing he had, and so decided to hide just outside the door to give them a scare. After listening for a few seconds though, he realized something far worse was happening.

'Hey boss, there's another kid here, looks like an Uchiha brat. Should we take him, too?"

"No, the girlie here will slow us down enough as it is, but give him some of the drug as well, that way he won't wake up and alert anyone."

One of the first lessens his mother had taught Naruto, that he could remember, was that as a Heir to the Uzumaki bloodline he could be targeted for kidnappings. Knowing that his friend Hinata was about to be just that, kidnapped, Naruto did the most brave thing he could think to do, he ran. He ran as fast as he could, twisting down hallways and skidding around corners, until he reached a room near the middle of the compound. Being friends with Hinata-chan and Sasuke, as well as their parents being friends, this was not the first time Naruto had slept over. He had been to the Hyuga compound so many times, he knew where most of the rooms were. And he also knew that his mother and her friends normally stayed in the same room together when they had a sleepover. Ramming the doors open to the room where his mother was Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs.

"MOOOOM! HINATA-CHAN'S BEING KIDNAPPED!"

**A/N: so, it's been a while…. Okay, it's been a looong while. I can't believe it took me two years to get this done. I won't try to make excuses, but I just haven't felt like writing for a while. For the first half of last year I didn't have a laptop, that notebook ended up getting fried, and then when I got my current one, I just didn't have the same spark I'd had before. Then when I did, it was for other stories, one of which I will be posting after some more time spent on this fic. I've also decided that setting a regular update for myself is hurting me, so from now on I'll just post when I have a chapter. All that said, I've never once forgot about this story, and while I still don't have much drive to write, I will continue to work on this until I reach the end. Hopefully the next chapter won't take two years. Till then, **

**Sketch out!**


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